Page 63 of The Taste of Deceit

I dry my eyes with the back of my hand before taking one last breath.

When I step into the kitchen, he’s already watching me.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” I shrug. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

His eyes search mine. I don’t make it another second.

“What happens when it’s your blood?”

“Baby Girl,” he says as he walks toward me.

“I knew what I was saying yes to,” I whisper. “I didn’t know it would feel like this.”

He slips his arms around me without saying anything.

“I can wash blood out of your clothes.”

My voice cracks.

“I don’t know if I could survive washing yours.”

His embrace tightens.

“I wish I could promise you that day will never come.” He rests his forehead against mine. “I wish I could promise this life will never come after me. Or you.”

I swallow hard.

“But I can’t lie to you.”

He brushes his thumb beneath my eye.

“What I can promise is that I’ll do everything in my power to come home to you every single day. Every decision I make, every room I walk into, every risk I take, I’ll be thinking about getting back to you.”

His hand settles against the side of my face.

“And if anyone ever comes after you...” His voice stays quiet, but there’s no mistaking the certainty behind it. “They’ll have to come through me first.”

I close my eyes.

“I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you. That’s the only promise I can make without lying to you.”

Chapter 20

Luca

The drive to my mom’s house takes a little under fifteen minutes. Sarah sits beside me with one hand resting over mine on the center console while the radio plays quietly through the speakers. Every now and then she glances out the window before looking back at me.

“Your mom’s going to tell me I don’t eat enough,” she says.

I laugh.

“And then she’s going to feed me enough for the next week.”

“Probably.”

She smiles.